November trial for TV star Anna Ryder-Richardson over Manor House incident

TV presenter Anna Ryder-Richardson and her husband are to stand trial accused of being responsible for an incident in which a mother and her toddler son were crushed by a tree branch.

Ms Ryder-Richardson, aged 48, her husband Colin MacDougall, 46, and their company today (Wednesday) entered pleas of not guilty to charges laid under the 1974 Health and Safety At Work Act.

The plea and case management hearing at Swansea crown court followed an incident at the couple's Manor House wildlife park near Tenby, on August 24, 2010.

Emma Davies-Hughes, aged 28, suffered injuries to her head, leg, pelvis, and arm when a branch of a tree came away during high winds.

Her three year old son, Gruff, spent three days in intensive care after the incident in the wallaby enclosure at the celebrity couple's 52 acre park.

The court heard that Ryder-Richardson, who appeared in Changing Rooms and I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here, was a director of the company that owned Manor House and her husband was the company
secretary.

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Each denied breaching sections two and three of the act by failing to ensure the safety of users of the park.

Judge Keith Thomas ruled that a three week trial would begin on November 12. A pre-trial review will be held on September 23 to ensure that all necessary preparations had been made by both the
prosecution and defence teams.

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